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(No Model.) 3 SheetsSheet 1 J. STAMBAUGH, Jr.

AIR COMPRESSOR.

No. 548,399. Pate ed O0t..22, 1895 FIEJ;

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(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 2.

J. STAMBAUGH, Jr. AIR COMPRESSOR.

No. 548,399. Patented Oct. 22, 1895.

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(No Model.) 3 sheets-sneer, 3. J. STAMBAUGH, Jr.

AIR COMPRESSOR WITNESSES:

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3PEGI FICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 548,399, dated October 22, 1895.

Application filed May 9, 1895- Serial No. 548,737. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, J ornv STAMBAUGH, J r., a citizen of the United States, residing at Youngstown, in the county of Mahoning and State of Ohio, have invented or discovered acertain new and useful Improvement in Air- Gompressors, of which improvement the following is a specification.

The object of myinvention is to provide an improvement in fluid-compressors; and to this end it consists in a new and improved means for controlling the admission of fluid to and its release from the compressor-cylinder, and in certain novel constructions and combinations, all as hereinafter fully set forth.

My invention provides an improved construction and arrangement of valve devices for controlling the inlet and outlet ports of the compressor, the inlet-valves being so connected as to be positively operated in both their openingand closing movements by the motor which operates the main piston in the compressor-cylinder. The inlet-valves are perfectly balanced as to the action of fluid pressure upon them, and the only resistance to their movement is that caused by the friction of the packing with which they are provided. The outlet-valves are balanced during their opening and closing movements and are unbalanced only when in position to close the outletports. The unbalanced pressure to which they are then subjected tends to hold them in position. to keep the outlet-ports= closed and thereby prevents any possibility of opening before the proper time. The outlet-valves are positively operated in their closing movement by mechanism driven by the motor which actuates the piston of the compressor-cylinder, and in their opening movement by a device which is actuated by the pressure in the compressor-cylinder when the outlet-valve is in a balanced condition, and the only resistance to movement will be that due to the comparatively slight friction of the moving parts.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a side view in elevation of a compressor, illustrating an application of my invention; Fig. 2, a plan view, on an enlarged scale, of the upper head of the compressor-cylinder shown in Fig. 1; and Fig. 3, a longitudinal section, on the same scale as Fig. 2, through the compressor-cylinder in a plane indicated by the line 0; cc of Fig. 2; Fig. 4, a section on a still larger scale through the head of the compressor-cylinder and inlet and outlet valves, the section being taken on the lineccmof Fig. 2; and Fig. 5, a section through the casing of the inlet-valve on the line y y of Fig. 4.

The piston 1 of the compressor-cylinder 2 is connected to and operated by the rotation of a shaft 3, which maybe driven by a steam-engine'or other motor. (Not shown in the drawings.) An eccentric 4. is mounted on the shaft 3 and operatively connected with a wrist-plate 8, which is provided with connections for operating the valves.

Motion may be imparted to the wrist-plate 8 by means of a direct connection from the eccentric& or by other means. As shown in the drawings, the eccentric 4 on the shaft 3 is connected by means of the strap 5 and rod 6 with one arm of a bell-crank lever 7,wl1ich is mounted on a bearing 9, secured to the supporting-frame 10 of the compressor-cylinder. The other arm of the bell-crank 7 is connected by means of a connecting rod or link 11 with an arm 12 of a rock-shaft 13, which is mounted in a bearing secured to the side of the frame 10. An arm 14, which projects from the rockshaft 13, is connected with the wrist-plate 8 by means of a rod or link 15. As the eccentric 4. rotates with the shaft 3 it imparts an oscillating or vibratory motion to the bellcrank 7, and by means of the link 11, arms 12 and 14 on the shaft 13, and link 15 an oscillating motion is given to the wrist-plate 8.

Each end of the compressor-cylinder is provided with two inlet and two outlet valves. The inlet-valves are connected to arms 27 on rock-shafts 28 and 2S, and on one end of each of the rock-shafts 28 28 is secured an arm 30, provided with a wristpin 32, which is connected with the wrist-plate S by a rod or link 31. At their inner ends the rods or links 31 are fitted to Wrist-pins 33, which project from the inner face of the wrist-plate 8.

The rock-shaft 28 at the upper end of the compressor-cylinder is supported in bearings secured to an extension 34 of the upper cylinder-head 16, and the lower rock-shaft 28" is supported in bearings 36, secured to the frame 10, which supports the compressor-cylinder.

The heads 16 and 17 of the compressorcylinder are provided, respectively, with extensions 34 and 34, each of which is divided into four compartments, two of which are closed to the atmosphere and communicate with the receiver of the compressor or with the delivery-pipe, and the other two of which are open to the atmosphere.

In the compartments which are open to the atmosphere are located valve casings 19, which are detachably secured to the cylinderheads by means of bolts 23, and which are provided with inlet-ports 20, communicating with ports 21 in the cylinder-heads, The interior of the casing 19 is cylindrical in form, closed at its inner end and open at its outer end, and the inlet-valves 1B are fitted to work therein, so as to control the ports 20.

The inlet-valves 18 are made in the form of cylindrical rings and provided on their outer surfaces with packing-rings 22. Their outer surfaces only are exposed to the pressure of the fluid being compressed, and they are at all times perfectly balanced as regards fluid pressure. Each of the inlet-valves is provided with a central hub 25, which is joined to the annular portion of the valve by means of radial webs 26, and the inlet-valves are connected to the arms 27 on the rock-shafts 28 and 28 by means of the links 29 and the rods 24. The links 29 are employed for the purpose of permitting the ends of the arms 27 to move in an arc of a circle, while the ends of the rods 24 have a rectilineal motion.

The outlet-valves 38 and their casings 37 are located within the compartments 39 in-the extensions 34 and 34 of the heads of the compressor-cylinder. The compartments or chambers 39 are closed to the atmosphere by means of the heads or bonnets 41 and communicate with the receiver or delivery-pipe through the passages 40. The casings of the outlet-valves are dctachably secured to the heads of the compressor-cylinder by means of bolts 42 in the same manner as the casings 19 of the inlet-valves are secured, and they are provided with ports 43, communicating with openings or ports 44 in the cylinderheads.

The outlet-valves are made in the form of short cylindrical tubes havinga flange or annular entension 47 on their outer ends. The main or tubular portion of the valve is fitted to slide over the ports 43, formed in the cylindrical interior chamber of the casing 37, and the outerportion of the valve having the annular extension or flange 47 is fitted to slide in a portion of the casing 37, which is of greater interior diameter. The inner tubular portions and the outer annular portions of each of the outlet-valves are provided with packing-rings 45 and 46. The space between the annular extension 47 on the outlet-valve and the shoulder 48 in the casing 37 is always in open communication with the interior of the compressor -cylinder through the passages 48.

The outer and inner annular ends of the outlet-valves are at all times exposed to the pressure of the fluid in the receiver space and chamber 39, and the outlet-valves will during their :opening and closing movements either be perfectly balanced or acted on by an excess of pressure tending to assist the movement of the valve. When the outletvalves are closed and the pressure in the compressor-cylinder is less than that in the receiver, one side'ot the annular extension 47 of the outlet-valve will be acted on by an excess of receiver-pressure over the cylinderpressure acting on the other side of the annular extension, and the valve will be held closed.

Just before the opening movement of the outlet-valve begins, the cylinder-pressure will have become equal to or greater than the receiver-pressure, and the valve will either be perfectly balanced, or, if not, the unbalanced pressure will act only to assist the movement. During the closing movement of the outletvalves they will be in a substantially balanced condition, and will offer no resistance to the closing movement except that due to the triotion of the packing.

Theoutlet-valves are provided with integral webs 49 andcentral hubs 50, which are connected by means of rods 51 and links to arms 53, tixedon rock-shafts 54 and 54. The rock-shaft 54 is supported in bearings 55, which are secured to the extension 34 at the upper end of the compressor-cylinder, and the rock-shaft 54 is supported in bearings 56, which are secured to the frame of the engine.

The outletvalve rods 51 pass through the heads 41, which close the outer ends of the chambers 39, and the openings through which the rods pass are packed by means of stuffingboxes 57.

An arm 58 is secured at or near one end of each of the rock-shafts 54 and 54 and provided with a wristpin 59, to which a tubular rod 60 is connected. Rods 61 are connected at one end to wrist-pins 62 on the inner face of the Wrist-plate 8, and the other ends of the rods 62 are provided with a piston-like enlargement 65, which slidesinside of the tubular rods 60. A cap 63, which is screwed on the end of the tubular rod 60, forms a guide for the rod 61.

Openings 64 near one end of the tubular rod 60 permit the passage of airinto and out of the rod on one side of the pistons 65, and other openings 66 are so located that at times they may be covered by the pistons 65, so as to prevent the escape of air from that end of the tubular rod and thereby produce a cushioning effect as the end of the rod 61 approaches the limit of its movement within the tubular rod 60. By means of this con- IIO struction the shock which might be caused by tial movement of the valve, on account of the inner side of the annular portion 47 of the with the closed end of the tubular rod is l prevented. The oscillations of the wristplate 8 will cause the rod 61 to slide in the rod 60, and when the piston 65 reaches the end of its movement in the tubular rod 60 the continued movement of the Wrist-plate will cause the rod 61 to push the rod 60 and arm 58 so as to close the outlet-valve. After the valve has been closed the wrist'plate will continue its movement in the same direction for some time without causing any substanfact that the points on the arc moved over by the pin 62, after the valve is closed, vary but little in their distance from the pin 59 when the valve is in the closed position. When the wrist-plate is oscillated in the opposite direction,the end of the rod 61 slides away from that portion of the rod 60 with which it was in contact and the valve is unaffected by this movement and remains closed until it is opened by other means. As the piston l in the compressor-cylinder 2 moves toward one end of its stroke and compresses the fluid in that end of the cylinder the pressure on the outlet-valve continues to increase until the valve is substantially balanced by the pressures in the cylinder and in the receiver, or until the pressure in the cylinder is in excess of the pressure in the receiver. During this movement of the main piston l the fluid which is being compressed in the compressorcylinder is free to act on one side of a small piston 67, which is fitted to work in a cylinder 68, the fluid from the main or compressor cylinder being admitted to the small cylinder through a pipe or passage 69, which is always open and which is provided with a cook or valve 7 O, to regulate the size of the passage through which fluid is admittedto the small cylinder.

The piston 67 in the small cylinder 68 is connected by means of a rod 71 with an arm 72, secured to the rock-shaft 54, and the piston 67 is so proportioned that when the desired pressure is reached in the compressorcylinder and in cylinder 68 the piston 67 will be moved so as to open the outlet-valves. By reason of the fact that the outlet-valves are then either perfectly balanced or are being acted on by an excess of pressure tending to open them the piston 67 may be made comparatively small or but little larger than would be necessary to overcome the friction of the moving parts and the efiect of gravity.

The cylinder 68 is provided near one end with a port or passage 73, which opens to the atmosphere and which is so located that when the piston 67 is moved by the pressure of the compressed air to open the outlet-valves the piston 67 before it reaches the end of its stroke will close the opening 73 and confine a portion of air in the cylinder, which will act as a cushion in checking the movement of the piston and the parts to which it is connected.

I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent- 1. In a fluid compressor, the combination, with a compressor cylinder, of a wrist plate, or other oscillating member actuated by the motor of the compressor, a rock shaft mounted on or near the end of the compressor cylinder, a valve controlling a port, or ports, at the end of the compressor cylinder and connected to the rock shaft, a telescopic connecting rod or link which is connected at one end to the rock shaft and at the other end to the wrist plate, whereby the rock shaft may be actuated and the valve closed by the movement of the wrist plate, and means for opening the valve which is connected to the rock shaft and actuated by the pressure in the compressor cylinder, substantially as set forth.

2. In a fluid compressor, the combination, with a compressor cylinder, of a wrist plate, or other oscillating member, a rock shaft mounted on or near the end of the cylinder, a reciprocating annular valve controlling a port, or ports, at the end of the cylinder and connected to the rock shaft, a telescopic connecting rod connected at one end to the wrist plate and at the other end to the rock shaft whereby the movement of the wrist plate may elfect the closing movement of the valve, an auxiliary cylinder, a piston in the auxiliary cylinder which is exposed to the pressure in the compressor cylinder, and connections from the piston in the auxiliary cylinder to the rock shaft whereby the valve may be opened by the movement of the piston in the auxiliary cylinder, substantially as set forth.

3. In a fluid compressor, the combination, with a compressor cylinder, of a wrist plate, or other oscillating member, a reciprocating balanced annular valve controlling the inlet ports of the compressor cylinder, a rock shaft connected to the valve and to the wrist plate whereby the valve is positively operated by the movement of the wrist plate, a balanced annular outlet valve controlling the outlet ports of the compressor cylinder, a rock shaft connected to the outlet valve and to one member of a telescopic link, the other member of the telescopic link or rod being connected to the wrist plate, whereby the movement of the wrist plate in one direction only will effect movement of the outlet valve, substantially as set forth.

4. In a fluid compressor, the combination, with the compressor cylinder of a removable casing adapted to be secured to the cylinder, or to its head, a cylindrical chamber within the casing which is closed at its inner end and open at its outer end, an annular valve fitted to slide in the chamber and controlling ports in the cylindrical wall of the chamber which communicate with the interior of the compressor cylinder, substantially as set forth.

5. In a fluid compressor, the combination, with the compressor cylinder of a casing formed on or secured to the cylinder or its head, a cylindrical chamber within the easing which is closed at its inner end and open at its outer end, an annular valve fitted to slide in the chamber and controlling ports in the cylindrical wall of the chamber which communicate with the interior of the compressor cylinder, substantially as set forth.

6. In a fluid compressor, the combination, with a compressor cylinder, of a reciprocating annular outlet valve, a flange or annular extension on one end of the valve which is exposed on one side to pressure in the compressor cylinder and on the other side to pressure in the receiver or outlet pipe, and connections for operating the valve from the motor which actuates the piston in the compressor cylinder, substantially as set forth.

7. In a fluid compressor, the combination, with a compressor cylinder, of a reciprocating tubular outlet valve exposed on its inside to pressure in the outlet passage or receiver and on its outside to pressure in the compressor cylinder, and a flange or annular extension on one end of the valve which is exposed on one side to pressure in the compressor cylinder and on the other side to pressure in the receiver or outlet passage, substantially as set forth.

8. In a fluid compressor, the combination, with a compressor'cylinder, of a reciprocating outlet valve comprising a tubular portion fitted to slide in a cylindrical casing and controlling a passage or passages in the casing from the compressor cylinder to the receiver or outlet passage, and a flange or annular extension on the tubular portion which is exposed on one side to pressure in the compressor cylinder and on the other side to pressure in the receiver or outlet passage, substantially as set forth.

9. In a fluid compressor, the combination with a compressor cylinder of avalve casing, a cylindrical chamber therein which is at all times open to the atmosphere at one end and which is closed at its opposite end, a passage or passages formed in the cylindrical wall of the chamber for connecting the interior of the chamber with the compressor cylinder and a balanced annular, or tubular, inlet valve fitted in the chamber and controlling communication between the compressor cylinder and the atmosphere, substantially as set forth.

10. In a fluid compressor, the combination, with a compressor cylinder, of a valve casing, a cylindrical chamber therein which is open to the atmosphere at one end and closed at its other end, a passage or passages formed in the cylindrical wall of the chamber for connecting the compressor cylinder with the interior of the chamber and with the atmosphere, a balanced annular or tubular valve controlling the passage or passages in the wall of the chamber, and a stem connected to the valve and passing through the open end of the chamber, substantially as set forth.

11. In afluid compressor, the combination, with a compressor cylinder, of a removable casing secured to the cylinder, or its head, an inner cylindrical chamber within the easing which is closed at itsinner end, an annular outlet valve fitted to slide in the chamber and controlling ports in the cylindrical wall of the chamber which communicate with the interior of the compressor cylinder, and a flange, or annular extension on the valve which is fitted to slide in an outer cylindrical chamber or enlargement of the inner chamber of the casing, the outer and inner ends of the valve being exposed to pressure in the receiver or outlet passage, and the inner face of the flange or extension being exposed to pressure in the compressor cylinder, substantially as set forth.

12. In a fluid compressor, the combination, with a compressor cylinder, of an outlet valve, a wrist plate operated by the motor of the compressor, a telescopic connection between the wrist plate and the outlet valve whereby the outlet valve is operated by movement of the wrist plate in one direction only which imparts closing movement to the valve, an auxiliary cylinder, a passage connecting the auxiliary cylinder with the compressor cylin der,a valve in the passage, 2. piston in the auxiliary cylinder which is connected to the outlet valve, and which is operated by the pressure in the compressor cylinder to open the outlet valve, substantially as set forth.

13. In a fluid compressor, the combination with a compressor cylinder of a reciprocating annular outlet valve which is adapted to be balanced by the pressures in the compressor cylinder and receiver or discharge passage, an auxiliary cylinder, and a piston in the auxiliary cylinder which is exposed to pressure in the compressor cylinder and adapted to be moved by such pressure to open the outlet valve when the outlet valve is substantially balanced by the pressures in the compressor cylinder and receiver, or discharge passage, substantially as set forth.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand.

JOHN STAMBAUGH, JR.

Witnesses:

W. R. MERRICK, Ion FORD. 

